The Monopoly Report

Alan Chapell speaks with Martin Thomson, Distinguished Engineer at Mozilla, about the W3C Attribution API, browser-based measurement, privacy-enhancing technologies, interoperability, fraud, and the future of advertising attribution. They examine the tradeoffs between privacy, competition, and ad measurement. The Attribution API spec may be found here: https://github.com/w3c/attributionThe Chapell...

Alan Chapell sits down with Cindy Cohn, former Executive Director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and author of Privacy’s Defender. They discuss the landmark Bernstein encryption case, the Snowden revelations, surveillance, behavioral advertising, privacy regulation, competition law, some lessons for companies in the ads space, and the future of digital rights in an increasingly monito...

At the NAI Summit 2026, Tony Ficarrotta, VP and General Counsel of the NAI, sat down with Tom Kemp, Executive Director of CalPrivacy, for an in-depth discussion on the California Delete Act, the DROP platform, data broker regulation, opt-out preference signals, privacy enforcement, and the future of federal privacy legislation. They explore how California is making privacy rights easier to exercis...

Alan Chapell sits down with journalist, entrepreneur, and Wired co-founder John Battelle for a deep discussion on AI, privacy, data ownership, publishing, and the future of the internet. They unpack the “inner monologue bloom,” OpenAI’s ambitious ad revenue projections, the economics behind content creation in the AI age, and why Battelle believes data portability could unlock an entirely new inno...

JP Schmetz, Chief of Search and Ads at Brave, joins Alan Chapell to debate the questions that most browser executives won't touch on the record. Should publishers stop outsourcing ad sales to Meta and Google? Is "first-party vs. third-party" a meaningful distinction to users — or a convenient line Brave draws to justify default blocking? Alan pushes back. JP pushes back harder. Featuring reference...

Don Marti joins Alan Chapell to unpack the hidden risks behind the push for industry standards for “privacy-safe”  ad attribution, the myth of privacy-preserving tech, and how big platforms may be reshaping the future of digital advertising. The Chapell Regulatory Insider is at https://chapellreport.substack.com/ Don Marti may be found at: https://aloodo.com/  See Don Marti’s recent AdExchanger pi...

Andrew Woods, GC of SSP Pubmatic, joins Alan Chapell to discuss Pubmatic’s approach to agentic ads — and how AI has irrevocably changed the legal profession. Pubmatic’s recent agentic test campaign results were a hit at Marketecture Live, and Andrew goes deep into what he believes will need to happen in order for agentic to live up to its promise. The Chapell Regulatory Insider is available at htt...

The Monopoly Report’s Alan Chapell sits down with FTC Commissioner Mark Meador at Marketecture Live to discuss industry privacy self-regulation, the future of the cookie opt-outs, the use of privacy as an anticompetitive pretext, and some ideas for better protecting kids online. Takeaways Self-regulation still matters, but must be effective and avoid collusion risks. Privacy and competition often...

Host Alan Chapell is joined by Ajit Varma and Kush Amlani from Mozilla, where they talk about the intersection of privacy and competition, the weaponization of privacy, and how Mozilla is placing a bet that staying true to their core privacy principles will enable Firefox to succeed over the long term.  The Chapell Regulatory Insider may be found at - https://chapellreport.substack.com/   Kush Aml...

Host Alan Chapell is joined by Mark Naples of WIT Strategy, where they discuss the history of self-reg in the ads space, the NAI's origins in 2000, the DAA's launch a decade later, and the rise of the cookie opt-out mechanism. They also get into AI and whether that will change the path of innovation in adtech. Find Mark Naples here https://www.witstrategy.com/mark-naples. The Chapell Regulatory In...

Allison Schiff, Managing Editor at AdExchanger and host Alan Chapell, break down the growing tension between business incentives and ethical responsibility in the ad tech industry. The background context is the recent RFI from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.   Who within the larger ad space is willing to admit - WE are part of the problem.  Check out the Chapell Regulatory Insider at htt...

Tony Katsur, CEO of IAB Tech Lab, joins Alan Chapell to unpack the rise of agentic AI and its impact on privacy and data governance. They explore why current approaches fall short and how the industry risks repeating past mistakes. The discussion breaks down vector embeddings and how they enable data matching without exposing raw user information. They also examine ongoing challenges around compli...

Sheila Colclasure joins host Alan Chapell to discuss some key lessons learned in a career that included significant privacy, AI and data governance roles at Acxiom and IPG. Sheila shares what inspired her to coin the term “March Fairness” as well as a few secrets on how to influence senior decision-makers on privacy and data governance issues. You can find the Chapell Regulatory Insider at https:/...

Ben Isaacson, Founder of InHouse Privacy and longtime privacy attorney, joins the podcast to break down how California’s CPPA is reshaping the data broker landscape. From the DELETE Act and the drop mechanism to the broad definition of “sale” and “direct relationship,” Ben explains why ad tech, retail media, clean rooms, and even auto and smart TV companies may be in scope. He also shares what enf...

AI ethicist and governance pro Shoshana Rosenberg joins Alan Chapell to discuss how to build a framework for addressing the legal and regulatory risks involving AI. Given all the new AI and profiling rules flowing down into the ads space in 2026, Shoshana is exactly the person the ads space should be listening to right now. Pre-order Shoshana’s book “Practical AI Governance” here - www.practicalai...

Alan Chapell is joined by Professor Jess Miers, visiting assistant professor of the University of Akron School of Law. Jess and Alan discuss some of the inherent challenges around protecting kids on the internet, and how those challenges are increasingly leading policymakers to age verification as the solution. While Alan is curious to see how this approach plays out in Australia, both Jess and Al...

Alan Chapell is joined by Tom Kemp, the Executive Director of California's privacy regulator CalPrivacy, to discuss the launch of the DROP data deletion mechanism and California’s rules regarding the Global Privacy Control. While complimentary of California's efforts, Alan attempts to uplevel the discussion to talk more broadly about the larger public policy goals driving California's privacy regi...

This week, Brendan Benedict joins Alan Chapell to talk about some of the recent civil antitrust complaints filed against Google by publishers including Penske, The Atlantic, McClatchy, Conde Nast, and Vox Media. With Judge Brinkema's remedies decision pending and a slew of other jurisdictions (e.g., EU, Canada) attempting to remedy Google's adtech practices, why are so many publishers and adtech c...

David LeDuc from the Network Advertising Initiative (NAI) sits down with host Alan Chapell to discuss the NAI's reinvention of its self-regulatory efforts in light of the influx of U.S. state privacy laws. They discuss what a good privacy law looks like, the challenges around finding the right balance, California's new Deletion tool, and the likelihood of a U.S. federal privacy law in the near ter...

Alan Chapell is joined by Dr. Travis Hall - Director for State Engagement at the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT), a nonpartisan organization focused on civil rights and liberties in the digital age. They talk about the ads space through a lens balancing consumer expectations with business interests and debate the merits of the private right of action. Travis Hall’s bio is available at http...

Professor Daphne Keller joins host Alan Chapell to discuss the implications of the EU Court of Justice decision in Russmedia - demonstrating that "breaking the Internet" is no longer solely the domain of pop stars like Taylor Swift. An expert in platform regulation and intermediary liability, Professor Keller explains how the CJEU's Russmedia decision poses significant challenges for companies ope...

Host Alan Chapell welcomes Commissioner Mark Meador of the Federal Trade Commission to talk about the future of conservative antitrust, the importance of protecting kids and the impact of the regulatory environment on the digital media marketplace. Commissioner Meador's bio can be found at https://www.ftc.gov/about-ftc/commissioners-staff/mark-r-meador. The Chapell Report can be found at https://c...

Peter Craddock joins Alan Chapell to discuss the EU Digital Omnibus proposal - and debate the value of simplification of the digital privacy rules in Europe. Peter views these changes as pragmatic, while Alan is concerned that we’re trading in one set of ambiguities to another. More on Peter Craddock https://www.khlaw.com/people/peter-craddock. More on Alan's Regulatory Outlook Substack https://ch...

The Digital Omnibus proposal seeks to upend the EU data protection rules. In part 1 of our coverage, Alan Chapell chats with Dr Gabriela Zanfir-Fortuna of the Future of Privacy Forum about what's driving the Digital Omnibus, and whether it is likely to have a positive impact. More on Gabriela at https://fpf.org/person/dr-gabriela-zanfir-fortuna/. More on Alan's Substack at https://chapellreport.su...

In this episode, Alan chats with Vermont State Representative Monique Priestley about her multi-year attempt to get a privacy law passed in the State of Vermont. They discuss Vermont's approach, what Monique has learned from the successes and failures of other state efforts, and what a "good" privacy law looks like.  Rep Priestley's bio may be found at: https://priestleyvt.com/about/ The discussio...